Vi - I f FQ ii l ' "' ffT i "'
,AnwH-
I.
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The Commoner.
VOL. 3, No. Is
0
of her own way, and should be treated
as a "case of temporary insanity." It
should be the business of the husband
to see that such intemperance is at
once stopped, oven at the risk to him
self of having to eat cold victuals arid
sew on his own shirt fastenings.
8
-
Truo Martyrdom.
So ho died for his faith; that was
ilno!
Moro than moat of ua do;
But, say, can you add to that lino
That ho lived for It, top?
In his doath, ho boro witness at last
Ah a martyr to truth;
Did his llfo do tho same in tho past,
From tho days of his youth?
It is easy to dio: Men have died
For a wish, or a whim;
From bravado, or passion, or prido:
Was it harder for him?
But to llvo! Every day to live out
All tho truth that ho dream't
"Whilo his frionds mot his conduct witn
doubt,
And tho world, with contempt
Was It thus that ho ploddod ahead,
Novor turning aside?
Then, wo'Il talk of tho llfo that ho
. led '
Novor mind how ho died.
Ernest Crosby.
boldly into tho place of wifo and mis
tress of tho home, and to her is con
fided tho control of affairs of vital
Importance, and the management of
"help" often scarcoly less ignorant
than herself. Is it to bo wondered at
that there aro so many unhappy
homes?
If our girls, whether contemplat
ing matrimony or Toot, who have
homes and mothers, would study this
almost lost an, uuu suck, lu iuuuci
Himmnnlitna ntflntnnf o Ti 1 1 nrnfinlnnfr. In
matters of housekeeping, they would,
in any contingency, bo measurably in
dependent, and there would be fewer
Horrowful failures and unhappy,
broken lives, and less of the mad
scramble for "situations" already
overcrowded, and, at best, but indiffer
ently remunerative.
ImaRlnnry Invalidism.
Wo all know her tho woman who
Is always complaining; perhaps we
wore, at one time, full sister to her;
Laughter is the best medicine In tho
world, and if you don't feel like laugh
ing, laugh anyway, and you will soon
find yourself laughing at yourself.
Tho wisest art in tho world is to cul
tivate smiles; the highest art is to
find smiles whero others shrink away
for fear of thorns.
There is so much happiness In thla
life, if only we would pick it up!
Rest Cure.
When a woman hurries through the
forenoon and feels tired, worried and
tremulous-liko, she does not feel liko
eating, and if sho does, her food is apt
to disagree with her, especially if she
has to go on hurrying after eating;
and if that sort of thing is kept up
long, she gets all run down and, like
as not, fretful, peevish and nagging.
Then sho gets the name of being a
"scold," or something as unpleasant
and undeserved. Nine times out of
ten, the husband, not understanding
the case, makes it still worse by get-
Butter and Orangei.
A correspondent says:
"Do tell the sisters that a most
delicious fragrance attaches to tho
butter which is kept in an ico chest in
company with one, two or half a dozen
oranges. The butter absorbs tho
"zest" o the orange the oily moist
ure that is thrown, off in the atmos
phere, when an orange is squeezed
or cut, and which is even more de
licious than the taste of the fruit it
self." The fat of the butter proving
so sensitive is enough to make one
heed the warnings against allowing
butter to remain shut up with meat,
fish, or other foods capable, of im
parting any disagreeable flavor.
but let us hope we have grown wiser, ting out of temper, and, leaving the
with tho passing years, and have house, slams the door behind him,
' Our Girls. ,
Evorv dav. tho question, "What
shall wo do with our" girls," becomes
moro and moro urgont as tho avenues
opened to them as bread-winners arc
rapidly filled. The supply seems
. over-reaching tho demand, yet schools
and shops aro yearly turning out these
Idle hands, and wo find that for them,
us for our boys, tho urgency of tho
question demands a solution. Women
broad-winners aro plontiful, and the
demand for them is not small; but
thoro Is always an overplus. There
aro tow "agencies" for dressmakors,
typewriters, stenographers, ofilco or
factory girls; they do their own ad
vertising, and "apply in porson," not
always semiring tho covotod position;
oven when they do, tho wage is often
distressingly small scarcely enough
to supply them with tho barest neces
sities, and their expenses' aro, greatly
Increased becauso of Iho demands for
dress Uiitl tho Inevitable car-faro. '
Moanwhile, tho quest ipn of getting
good and efficient help in tho homo is
fully as hard to answor. Reliable,
trustworthy house-help Is almost im
possible to secure, and tho demand Is
novor half met, although tho wages
aro good, tho work less woarjng and
tho privileges much greater than those
that fall to tho averago "business"'
girl.
Tho general idea is lliat housowork
is degrading, and tho least willing
ness to "go out .to work" is regarded
as an ovidenco of "low tastes." Many
women, wives, and mistresses of
homes of thoir own, aro ashamed to
lot It bo known that they "do their
own work." Yet, in tho faco of all
this, no woman, mistress or maid,
likes to have It said of her that she
in a "poor housekeeper,' and our very
brightest women court tho reputation
of bolng nn "accomplished house
wife" as a mark of high honor. Tho
namo of being a "first-class cook" Is
greatly appreciated by women of all
grades of society.
'ou will find ,no man with ovon
ordinary "business sense," who" will
jeopardize his Interests by placing over
his employes as foreman, a person
Who is ignorant of tho details of the
buslnoss which he or sho assumes to
control; but a woman, ignorant of
the first principles pr housekeeping,
Inexperienced in tho simplest details
of .homo-making, is allowed to stop
learned to keen our aches and pains
to ourselves. Life, to most of us, Is
like a cloudy day, and we do so lovo
tho sunshine!
But, seriously, did It never occur to
you that at least half of our woes are
Imaginary, and that the other half
are greatly exaggerated? Did you
ever think of the wonderful Influence
mind has over matter? It Is said that
human nature loves to be duped, and
it is remarkable to what an extent it
takes pains to dupe itself. One would
think, from the pains some people
take to provo themselves invalids,
that it was something to be proud of.
But everything demonstrates the fact
that sickness Is sin, and we aro told
that tho time will come when hu
manity will bo ashamed to confess
to the weakness and ignorance which
aro the conditions Tof sickness. Ill
health is the result of broken laws.
we may not ourselves be tho aggres
sors; the mischief may bo due to some
one- behind us, and the result "hand
ed clown" In the form of an inherit
ance to us; but insofar as wo may
wq should reject any such endowment.
Wo should utterly refuse to acknowl
edge any heirship to weakness, or to
wickedness. Why should you wear
tho cast-off rags of a generation gone
by, when beautiful new carmonts
should be yours for the picking up?
Why will people put on long face
when it is so much easier to indulge
in a good hearty laugh? People are
always glad to see one of the cheerful
countenance, and a person who laughs
is a doctor with a diploma from tho
school of Nature. The Good Book tells
us something about the "merry heart
that hath a continual feast" and says
that it dooth eoort Ulro n Tnnnininn
Yes, I know It says something, too,
about "laughter of a fool," but a
laughing fool is right good company,
sometimes. Anyhow, we often find
him preferable to tho most scholarly
dyspeptic who never speaks but in a
groaning key, or who has nothing bet
ter to toll us than lhat we are all
frail, dying mortals, tho object of
God's special displeasure, and that it
is a sin to oe nappy.
Now, sisters, let us try to find the
sunshine all through this year. If we
du not fint, let us try our skill at
do not find' it, let us try our skill at
unsought, and if we allow the "blue
devils" never so small a chance they
will take absolute possession
only of ourselves, but of :6ur homes.
shutting her up with the rack of the
domestic tempest, and well, do you
wonder that sho breaks down into
hysteria? v
Now, Mr. Husband, wo don't doubt
that you love your wife; but, if you
were as wise as you should be, you
would remember that there is a time
when silence is golden, and that right
then is the time. Instead of showing
temper and "saying things," you
should begin casting about, right
there, to see how best you can relieve
the nerve-strain that is surely break
ing down tho woman you love. More
often than not, when you think she
is lacking in amiability, she is in
need of sleep; and when you think
she is wanting in patience and sweet
ness, the "shortage" is in needed rest.
What she really does need is relax
ation, rost; getting entirely away from
sight or sound of anything that smacks
in the least of work or worry; an ab
solute "letting go" of things; a sea
son of rightful and accepted indol
ence. There is no surer cure for this
nervous breaking down of the wife
and mother than to go away by her
self, and if she can, indulge in a half
hour's perfect relaxation; a slipping
out of the harness, an occasional self
ish caring for self. A day spent
quietly in bed, playing invalid, is a
wonderful nervine. An hour after
dinner, lying down with some trashy
novel as a soporific, is a good nerve
tonic.
The excursion, either at home or
abroad, spent in continual exertion, is
not to be recommended; many a suf-
ierer returns home more irritable and
jaded than when sho left home; so,-
aiso, tne "brisk, dally walk" or the
carriage ride, which holds the idea of
going somewhere, or getting something
done in fact, any sense whatever of
doing something because itlias to Ids
done; there is in all this a sense of
forced action, of work, .which robs
it of its restfulness. f
A woman should realize that slie
owes a duty to herself, as well as to
others. Whatever affects her health
weakens her usefulness to her family.
The "work habit" can ho inrinimwi i
until it becomes as pernicious as tho
"drink habit," and qutte'as reprehen
sible, quite .as destructive to the cora-
iui l ui ui? uome. a xvoman who, '
from any cause, allows'' herself to be
come a mere machinJuseful only in
tho'seiiso of grinding 'out work, sol
do a -has ambition enojilgh to get out
The Autumn Qnrdcn.
We should not forget, while" plan
ning our garden -in the spring, that
provisions for late flowers must be
made at the same time. The beauty,
of most gardens iB gone long before
the first frost Occasionally, an ex
tra early frost may make our efforts
vain, but care in covering the plants
on doubtful nights will save the plants.
While the choice of reliable autumn
blooming .shrubs is somewhat limited,
what we have are very beautiful. Har
diness, rapid growth, freedom from in
sect pests and long 'seasons of bloom
are .qualities to be considered. - '
Many herbaceous perennials and bi
ennials and quite a few hardy annuals
contribute to make the autumn gar
den a thing greatly to be desired,
and 'from a well selected - assortment
onfr may have abundance of flowers
well along toward December. Many
of them Will bo in full flower until
hard .freezing- "weather. . . -
Once established, these autumn
bloomers will live and thrive with al
most no care, and there is little excuse
for not having them. The plants are
not expensive, even when bought of
the florist, and a very groat many of
them can be raised from seed. Do noi
forget that the seeds or plants must
be included in your qrder for "garden
things" sent for now,
For the Cemeiery. ' "
Many times we are asked the ques
tion, "What. shall v;.o plant-in the
cenjetery?"
When ourdead He in a large, well
kept city cemetery, where a careful
sexton watches over the flowers and
shrubbery, it is possible to grow
plants irrespective of .their hardiness. ' '
We can indulge our sad fancy in the
flowers we Move, and that were dear
to the sleepers. But, when our "Gar-
den ,of. God" lies on a bleak, country.
hillside, wind-swept, drouth-parched,
and uncared-for save as loving hearts
wa;ch over it; or, even in some small
town, where "God's Apre" is general
ly the most barren of ground all the
care it receives is from bereaved wo
men, who grieve and forget not, but
whose daily cares, whoso treadmill ex
istence absorb their moments and
leave them only time for occasional
hurried visits; then the keeping in
order o.f the last resting place .of our
lovqd and lost is often a failure. r
There are plant's and shrubs, how
ever, that will grow even in the inhos
pitable soils of a country cemetery,
and chief among them is the Rosa Wi
churaiana. It is not a new plant
mivt is, it nas Deon tested for years
OUtSide the florist's crnrrlA'n.-.nnVl -4f
'has never failed to give satisfaction: .
t mwuttiumesB, adaptability to o.ny
.Hind of soil, is almost evergreen, and,
Xttn Ji , L' Ul' W"-ns, gives us
1 a$aance of. -while, starry, frag
.rantflowers. There are other good,
'wwwia